


Dark between the Stars

by TigerKonigs



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica, RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, F/F, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-23
Updated: 2015-08-23
Packaged: 2018-04-16 18:12:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4635210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TigerKonigs/pseuds/TigerKonigs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Space Station Remnant is the guardian of an area of space known as "Death's Haven". When Homura Akemi finds herself assigned to the newly formed 11th Remnant Squadron after graduating from Naval Academy, she must help liberate those capture by the incubators, and navigate the pressures of fitting into a squadron filled with veterans and new recruits alike.<br/>Sci-Fi AU, Crossover. Main character focus is on Homura and Ruby. Eventual Ladybug and MadoHomu.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dark between the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Aaaaaaand because I seem to be stuck in PMMM/RWBY crossover AU hell, here this is. A Sci-Fi AU I got the inspiration for when I got really into Star Wars: Empire at War again a week or so back. A lot of the necessary exposition will come in this chapter, and the first real engagement will likely not come till the next chapter. First ever 5k+ word chapter though, and feel really pleased with it! So please; read, enjoy and leave a little constructive criticism for me!

By the cusp of the 23rd Century, Humanity had truly taken to the stars. Technological Advancements had reached the point where they had achieved what they once thought impossible – Faster than Light travel. Now, it is a rather common cliché to say that this advancement ushered in a new era of peace and exploration, but this was not to be. Humanity violently turned inwards, as skirmishes began to break out over the distribution of the new technology – termed ‘HyperDrive’. The solar system would be wracked with bloody conflict for the better part of the century between two major factions – The Human Planetary Alliance and the Confederate of Human Planets. Most of the conflict would be fought in space, and would be home to numerous bloody battles; The 4th Battle of the Kaipur Belt, The Battle of Titan, and its bloodiest – the year-long Battle of Mons Olympus, which came to be nicknamed “Slaughter Mountain” by both sides. The war would culminate with the Confederate defeat at the 12th Battle of Luna, but it was no easy victory. Humanity would then spend the rest of the 23rd Century rebuilding, and nursing its wounds.

It would be the early 24th Century before Humanity would expand outside of the Solar system. Initial expansion would be met with little resistance, leaving humanity in the dark about the existence of other races they shared the galaxy with. That was until they encountered the edge of another space-faring race’s holdings. They had discovered the Empire of the United Faunus Tribes. Initial contact was hostile, and Humanity found itself in its first interstellar war – The 1st Human-Faunus War. Had humanity expanded a century earlier, without all the advancement made in their civil war that century, they would have lost soundly. But the century of advancement, which the Faunus had not matched due to technological stagnation, led to Humanity to having an edge. The war was fast, and fierce. Despite the Faunus taking an early advantage, they then lost ground rapidly. A peace treaty was signed as the Humans reached within two systems of the Faunus Home System – which Humans knew as Menagerie. Peace was settled, and Human exploration continued. But the Solar Council grew corrupt, and found itself filled with warmongers. The 2nd Human-Faunus War opened with a mass surprise attack across the entire front shared by the two civilisations. It was brutal, and bloody. Menagerie was sacked. Millions of innocent faunus were enslaved or murdered. The Faunus had been battered, and if the war continued, their entire race would have been subjugated. But the war had sickened the humans as well. A Civil War broke out – between those sympathetic to the Faunus and those who weren’t. The tentative and newly formed United Human and Faunus Systems Alliance, oft shortened to UHFSA, fought back against the old Federation of Human Systems.

The 2nd Human Civil War, as the conflict was called, was just as brutal as the last. The UHFSA was at a disadvantage from the beginning. As such, they decided that their first priority was securing the current and old faunus holdings, as a way of preventing further genocide. The first true engagement of the war opened up with the Battle of Menagerie, which the Alliance referred to by its faunus name of Gaia. The Battle lasted for 5 days in Space alone, and UHFSA troops took 3 months to truly secure the planet. Many UHFSA soldiers noted that the human inhabitants of the planet were “Some of the most brutally racist people they had ever seen.” While the Battle of Menagerie/Gaia raged on, an insurgent group began to rise on occupied Faunus worlds. This insurgent group was known by the name of the White Fang. The interest of this insurgent group was to free the faunus from human oppression and persecution. Early on, the White Fang would prove to be the Ace in the Hole for the UHFSA, with their operations helping to hamper the Federation heavily. But as the brutality progressed, the White Fang became increasingly violent in return, to the point where negotiations broke down between the White Fang and the Alliance after the old Faunus systems had been recaptured. A tentative alliance of convenience was formed between the insurgent group and the Alliance, as to prevent infighting from losing them the war. With the new Industrial base of the old Faunus holdings, the Alliance had gained a foothold to take the war. As the offensive into the Human systems began, the Alliance gained ground. Defections were common as people began to judge the tide of the war. After a severe defeat in Deep Space near the Mistral system, the Federation collapsed. An unconditional surrender was written, and the Alliance began to lick its process of integration and rebuilding.

50 years of integration, rebuilding, and negotiation with the White Fang later, a new threat emerged. On the edge of Alliance space emerged a rather disturbing enemy – known simply as the Incubators. They were a race of enslavers, who experimented on those they capture. The mutations had one of two effects – if the victim was Human, they would mutate into an abstractly shaped being, with a variety of looks and all with a capability for Psychic powers of some kind, or if the victim were faunus, they would become what was known as a Grimm – beastly black animals with Blood Red eyes and white bone masks which came in 5 or 6 different types. The mutation also shut down a lot of the higher brain functions of the victim, and allowed the Incubators to psychically control them. The Alliance found itself engaged in a protracted war of ambushes and convoy raids – and so they adapted. On which brings us to the technology and formations of now – the small raiding teams the Alliance uses to stop Incubator slave raids dead in their tracks. The composition is generally small – between 2-4 Frigates and 2-4 wings of 13 Fighter sized vessels. The Frigates are of the brand new _Guerrilla_ -class, carrying superior firepower and manoeuvrability to their equivalent Incubator vessel, as they often had to fight with inferior numbers. The _Hunter_ -class Heavy Starfighter is the pinnacle of Starfighter technology, and carries excellent firepower, manoeuvrability, and survivability for a vessel of its size.

Homura Akemi sighed softly. She had been assigned to the 11th Fighter Squadron of Space Station Remnant. The Squadron was a new unit, drafted together from previously destroyed units and new recruits. Homura didn’t particularly like this idea for her first assignment – she had graduated from the Naval Academy on her home planet of Mitakihara, and had suddenly found herself thrust right into the thick of it. The area of space where forces from the Remnant usually sortied had been nicknamed ‘Death’s Haven’ back at the academy. A small nebula, numerous asteroid fields, a ship graveyard here and there, and to top it all off there were constant Incubator patrols and convoys. Homura shivered a little at the thought. The shuttle gave a little jerk as it attached to the airlock of the space station. Homura stood with the rest of the people, and entered through. She gasped a little. She wasn’t expecting it to be small, but Remnant certainly was huge. Homura heard an intercom crackle into life.  
“All new recruits for the newly-formed 6th Remnant Fleet please report to the main briefing room.”  
Homura walked forward, retrieving her datapad from her bag. The station commander had issued each of their datapads with navigation capabilities so they wouldn’t get lost on the way. How… thoughtful. Homura highly doubted the Academy CO would have thought of that. Regardless, she set off.

Homura took her seat, looking round the room, gauging her fellow peers. There were around 30 people in total in the seats – 26 pilots and 4 officers, from what Homura could discern.  
“I must be in a fleet on the smaller end then, with just 2 frigates and 2 wings,” Homura thought.  
The rooms lights dimmed a little and a stern looking woman in walked on stage.  
“Quieten down everyone, and listen up. First of all, welcome to the 6th Remnant Fleet. This station, and this fleet, is going to be your home for a good long while if all goes well. And if it doesn’t, there are a fair few who would know the drill on that one. I am Vice Admiral Goodwitch. I will be your direct liaison and Commanding Officer for the duration of this fleet’s existence. All intel and objectives will come from me. You know your assignments. 11th Squadron, meet in briefing room 2. 12th, you’ll be meeting in Briefing Room 3. Squadron Leaders will then reconvene with Frigate Officers at the Main Briefing Room. Get to it.”

Homura stood, and the shuffling of people could be heard. She headed into Briefing Room 2 from the connecting door in the main briefing room. She looked around the room, taking in everyone’s features. A rather slight girl with red highlights headed over to the projection table.  
“Alright, listen up 11th. I’m Squadron Leader Ruby Rose, and I’ll be CO of 11th till either I or the squadron bites the dust. And considering my track record, I hope the latter doesn’t come too soon,” She said grimly, before trying to lighten the mood.  
“Enough depressing stuff, let’s get to the introductions. We’ll be able to work together a lot better if we know each other.”  
“I’ll begin,” She continued. “As I said before, I’m Ruby Rose. I’ve been around here a while, so don’t be afraid to come to me for guidance. Also, Starfighter modification is my joy, so if I’ll help you guys with that too. Oh, and on that note, I want modification on all your fighters before our first fight, got it?”  
This puzzled Homura a little. The Academy CO hadn’t said anything about modification, outside of saying it wasn’t against regulation. Ruby noticed her furrowed brows, and mentally took note of it.  
“Alright, so next will be… my good old sis,” Ruby exclaimed cheerily.  
A Boisterous Blonde stood forward, grinning widely.  
“The name’s Yang Xiao Long. My rank is flight lieutenant. I’m the Squadron’s assigned 2nd in Command, and you kids better respect it. I’ve been through it all right by Ruby’s side, so follow me in the fight, alright?” She exclaimed proudly, wrapping an arm round Ruby and dragging her close, much to the other’s dismay.  
After disentangling herself from Yang, Ruby tapped her chin in thought, eyeing up the people in the room, before pointing to a haughty-looking girl with white hair.  
“Princess, you’re up next,” She ordered, with the white-haired girl looking slightly miffed.  
“Don’t call me that,” She hissed back, before clearing her throat. “I am Weiss Schnee, Graduate of Atlas Naval Academy. This will be my first assignment, but do not underestimate my skill.”  
There were a few audible groans. Homura mused whether the ones who had groaned were veterans of someone with this personality before. Or just veterans, for that matter. The teachers back at Academy had drilled into her head that overconfidence would get her killed. Perhaps Pilot Schnee would need to learn that as well…  
“I wouldn’t recommend getting too confident Schnee,” Ruby said firmly, eyes burning, “I don’t want 11th losing someone on the first run. I don’t want to deal with that again.”  
Ruby then stared right into the eyes of a black-haired cat faunus, who seemed to match her stare with as much vigour. Ruby smiled slyly.  
“Now that’s a stare I can relate to,” Ruby said, impressed. “Care to introduce yourself?”  
She continued to match Ruby’s gaze. “Blake Belladonna. I was reassigned to this squadron at the behest of the White Fang.”  
Ruby grinned. “Cool. That’s explains the uniform mismatch to your experience. You and I will have a more in-depth talk later, so your skills can be properly recorded and you can get a rank more befitting of your experience.”  
Homura was slightly puzzled at her tone. Was she trying to come on to the Faunus? That would something for Homura to investigate further, if possible.  
“Moving along,” Ruby continued, shifting things along. “Blondie, you’re up next.”  
The Blonde-haired boy she had pointed towards looked nervously around, before pointing at himself. A firm nod put an end to his confusion.  
“M-my name is Jaune Arc. I graduated from Vale Pilot Academy. This is my first assignment, but I hope I can help,” He stuttered, looking rather jumpy.  
“Arc,” Ruby commanded, “Why did you become a Pilot?”  
He froze. Homura suppressed a wince. She had a feeling she knew his reason.  
“He’s a glory hunter,” She whispered to herself.  
Ruby picked up on it. “Pilot, please repeat what you just said but loud enough for everyone to hear,” She ordered, looking back at Jaune.  
“He’s a glory hunter, ma’am,” Homura repeated as ordered, a little nervously.  
Ruby stared angrily at Jaune. “Pilot Arc, let me give you a little knowledge now. War is not glorious. There is no prestige or glory to be gained here. Playing hero will only lead to you getting killed.”  
Her expression lightened. “Rely on your squadron mates Pilot. You graduated from the Academy. It’s one of the few things they teach that will always save your hide.”  
She shifted along. “Next up would be you, Flight Lieutenant,” She ordered, pointing to red haired girl.  
“I am Flight Lieutenant Pyrrha Nikos. I hope to get along with all my fellow squadron mates,” She replied graciously, giving a slight bow to her squadron mates.  
Homura heard a few gasps of shock. It seems Flight Lieutenant Nikos’s reputation as the hero of Mistral proceeded her. And Homura hoped that her squadron mates would have the tact not to bring it up.  
“Wait, if you’re Flight Lieutenant Nikos, Hero of Mistral, then why are you not Squadron Leader?”  
Well, that is if Pilot Schnee had learned any in the first place. Homura took note of Flight Lieutant Xiao Long’s visible anger; Squadron Leader Rose’s seething but well-hidden rage; and the mild displeasure of Flight Lieutenant Nikos. Homura also noted that Yang was quieted by a subtle gesture from Ruby, who then strode over to Weiss menacingly.  
A fake smile graced her lips. “Were you never taught manners as a child, Schnee?” She said venomously, locking Weiss’s eyes with a deadly stare.  
“And I’m certain that you’ve never had the burden of being called a hero for having the luck to survive when all your comrades die around you. Additionally, you seem to forget that my experience within this sector far exceeds Flight Lieutenant Nikos, and I will inform you now that she admitted to me before this meeting that I was more suitable for command of this squadron. Now, unless you want to be going home in a body bag Schnee, you’ll learn to respect my command.”  
She sighed, running a hand through her hair. “This has not started well at all. Now, let’s continue. Sergeant, you’re up next.”  
The man nodded, before clearing his throat. “Sergeant Lie Ren, reporting for service,” He said dryly.  
Ruby raised her eyebrows a little, before moving along to the Corporal standing rather close to him.  
“Corporal Nora Valkyrie here ma’am!” She beamed, “I’m always ready to crack open a few Incubator ships!”  
Ruby smiled at her enthusiasm. “Nice to see a few vets with fight left in them. Flying Officers, you’re up next.”  
The blonde-haired one cleared her throat. “Flying Officer Mami Tomoe, at your service,” She said politely, “Please rely on me in battle.”  
“Flying Officer Kyouko Sakura,” The red-haired one boasted, “With me in the squadron, life aint gunna be easy for those damn Incubators.”  
Ruby grinned at Kyouko, admiring her enthusiasm. “Alright, just three left. How about you introduce yourselves?”  
“Pilot Sayaka Miki, ready for service,” The blue-haired girl near me said, “I graduated from Mitakihara Naval Academy; I hope I can help save lives.”  
Ruby gave an intrigued look, before motioning for them to continue.  
“Pilot Madoka Kaname,” The pink-haired girl said shyly, “I hope I can help. This is my first assignment, so please take care of me.”  
Ruby nodded, and gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry kid; we’ll keep you safe till you can handle it a little better.”  
Ruby then turned her gaze to Homura, who shifted a little nervously.  
“And who would be our final member?” Ruby inquired, looking expectantly at Homura.  
“Pilot Homura Akemi,” Homura replied, “This is my first assignment after graduation from Mitakihara Naval Academy. I hope I can learn and be able to protect people.”  
Ruby smiled, seeming content at the answer.  
“Alright, now that introductions are done with, it’s time to decide on what to name the squadron,” Ruby informed the squadron.  
“Wait, I thought we were the 11th?” Jaune asked in confusion.  
“The squadron needs a call sign for easier recognition in battle,” Pyrrha answered, to which Jaune nodded in understanding.  
Madoka cleared her throat nervously, which drew the attention of Ruby.  
“You got an idea, Kaname?”  
“U-um, what about using _Liberator Squadron_ as a call sign?” She stuttered, embarrassed. “Since, we will be saving lives and liberating people from the Incubators.”  
Awkward silence reigned for a few seconds. “I am sorry that was a silly suggestion.”  
“I like the sound of it,” Homura interrupted abruptly. “It may sound idealistic, but it is what we will mostly be doing, is it not?”  
Ruby grinned widely. “Nice showing, Pilot Akemi,” She muttered under her breath, before speaking up, “Any objections?”  
No real objection was heard, and so the squadron had gained its call sign. Ruby then informed the squadron that the number of their introduction would also be their squadron number (Homura would be _Liberator_ 13 while Blake would be _Liberator_ 4, for example). And so, they were dismissed, and told to work on their fighters while Ruby finished up the rest of the briefing.

Homura exited the briefing room, and one of the two flying officers approached her.  
“Pilot Akemi, wasn’t it?” Mami asked, to which Homura nodded in reply.  
“We’re showing you and the other two Mitakiharan graduates down to your fighters. We’ll be forming Wing C in the case the Squadron needs to be divided,” She explained, as she beckoned the other two over.  
“Now, if you would kindly follow us,” Mami began marching down the corridors in the direction of the hangar, with the recruits and Kyoko following suit.  
They reached the hangar in relatively short order, and Yang waved them over.  
“Wing C! You’re stuff’s over here. The factory scheme ones are for the recruits, the other two you should be able to identify,” She explained, before motioning over to 3 dull grey fighters, a stark red one, and a more subtle yellow one.  
Mami collected the three recruits round her fighter. “This is my personal vessel,” She explained, motioning towards the yellow fighter, “The _Credens Justitiam_. High Command has no problems with modifications to external paint jobs, engines, weapons, power plants, or shield generators. Basically, as long the chassis can take the strain, it’s cleared for modification. For example, the Credens Justitiam has an underslung Heavy Laser Cannon that requires disabling the engines to charge for a powerful single blast. However, such a modification would not be recommended for all but the most promising of recruits.”  
She paused to let that information sink in, before continuing.  
“In conclusion, you should try and make modifications to that allow you to play to the strengths of your combat style, and make sure you give it a name and a nice paint job.”  
“No, really,” Kyoko chipped in, “She’ll kill ya if ya don’t.”  
“Kyoko,” Mami smiled falsely, a menacing aura surrounding her, “Please do not try to tarnish my reputation with the new recruits.”  
Kyoko chuckled fearfully, before going back to running maintenance checks on her fighter.  
“Now, you may begin with your modifications,” Mami said, before turning to work on her fighter.  
Homura waited patiently for the other two to choose a fighter to work on, before moving over to last remaining one herself. She stood before it, admiring its profile and making note of possible modifications.  
“I need my datapad for this I think,” She mumbled to herself, before pulling out the said piece of equipment and a stylus to take notes with.  
Homura strolled carefully round the vessel in front of her, occasionally stopping to take notes on certain aspects. Possible weapon mounts, systems upgrades, and the possibility of additional utility modules were all cross referenced with her operator’s manual. She took a step back, and stared at the fighter, deep in thought.  
“Need a hand, Akemi?”  
Homura jumped slightly, which elicited a slight chuckle from her visitor.  
“At ease Pilot,” Ruby said, walking up to stand next to Homura. “You look a little lost. Need a hand?”  
“If you wouldn’t mind, help would be appreciated;” Homura replied nervously, “My instructor at the academy never really went over personal modification.”  
Ruby frowned slightly, before asking to see what Homura had written in the datapad. She frowned a little more.  
“Damn, they do not give out decent operator manuals do they?” Ruby mused out loud, before bringing up Homura’s annotated version.  
“Nice work on identifying the possible hardpoints, but your modifications could do with being a bit more comprehensive from what I can see,” Ruby explained, looking up at the fighter, “You were looking for more engine performance and general firepower, right?”  
Homura nodded. “The load limit stated in the operator’s manual didn’t seem to give me enough room to work with though…”  
Ruby handed Homura her datapad back. “Is that Operator’s manual from your instructor?”  
Homura nodded in confusion, wondering the relevance of the question.  
“The load limit of the Mk III _Hunter_ , which is the beauty sitting in front of you, is far higher than what that manual was giving you,” Ruby explained, “Your instructor must be a real stickler for uniformity, huh?”  
Before Homura could answer, Ruby shouted over her. “YANG!”  
Yang poked her head out of the fighter she was working on, looking over at Ruby.  
“Get the full kit for Akemi. Firepower and Mobility focus,” Ruby shouted to Yang, who merely nodded, and walked over to a storage area.  
“She’ll get your stuff, and I’ll give you a hand in fitting it, alright?” Ruby offered, smiling at Homura.  
“Is that really alright?” Homura questioned anxiously, to which Ruby grinned at her.  
“It’s not a problem,” Ruby replied cheerfully, “Besides; I’ve read your file. Why shouldn’t I give a hand to such a prodigious young pilot who is having some trouble modifying her fighter since her Instructor never put her through that part of training?”  
Homura smiled shyly, and looked back at her fighter. She heard the sound of a pair of haulage floats behind her, and turned to see Yang bringing over the parts for Ruby’s planned modifications.  
“Got the parts for you Rubes,” Yang said, before waving a goodbye as she moved back to work on her fighter.  
Ruby rubbed her hands together, before sliding the haulage floats closer to Homura’s fighter.  
“You’ve fitted and removed the wing lasers for maintenance before, right?” Ruby inquired, to which Homura nodded.  
“Same fare for fitting the extras. Just use the extra hardpoints for it,” Ruby explained before moving towards the centre of Homura’s fighter. “You get to work on that while I get to work on switching out the power plant, alright?”  
Homura gave a quick affirmative in reply, before moving towards the wings of the craft. Meanwhile, Ruby had moved the float with the power plant and engine parts with, before shoving the other over to Homura at the wings. Homura, who had moved over a small maintenance ladder to the underside of the starboard wing, began to open up the hardpoints via the access panels mounted next to them. She dragged the transport float a little closer to the hardpoints, and hefted a laser into the first hardpoint. She clicked the magnetic locks into place, and took her hands away from the laser. Seeing as it hadn’t fallen out, Homura gave the magnetic locks a quick double check. Satisfied with the fitting, Homura closed the access to hardpoint, and moved on to the next one, repeating the process. She then moved over to the port side wing of the craft, and repeated the process. With all four additional lasers fitted, Homura climbed down from the ladder, and walked back to Ruby, float in tow. Ruby looked at Homura as she reached the area of the craft where Ruby was working.  
“You know how to change out the Proton Torpedo launchers and EMP Cannon right?” Ruby asked, to which Homura nodded. “Get to work on that. The power plant will still take a while, and the engines are going to need the both of us working together.”  
Homura then moved to front of the craft, moving the maintenance ladder and the transport float along to the nose of the fighter. Using the access panel to open up the port torpedo mount first, Homura got to work removing the launcher already fitted. Hefting it out, and onto the area of the float where the lasers had been previously, Homura grabbed the appropriate launcher, and moved it into the now unoccupied fitting. Hooking up the launcher to the ammunition feed, Homura paused for a moment.  
“Does the ammunition feed need changing as well,” Homura asked Ruby, who poked out her head from the internals of the fighter.  
“Nah, it’s good. The Quartermaster will load the right ammo at resupply,” She replied, before returning to work on the Starfighter’s internals once more.  
Homura turned back to the launcher, connecting up the firing systems and locking the launcher into place, completing the process by closing the access to it via the panel once again. She then got to work on repeating the process for the starboard side launcher, and then climbing off the ladder and bringing the float down with her. Fishing about for the access panel, Homura gained access to the EMP Cannon. Disconnecting it from all the different targeting and power systems, and then disabling the locks holding it in place, Homura hefted the EMP Cannon onto the float, before retrieving the improved one from the float. She locked it into place, and began the process of reconnecting it to all the targeting and power systems. Finished with her work, Homura tapped away at the access panel, and closed access to the cannon once more.

Sliding the float out from underneath the craft, and moving over to Ruby, Homura informed her that she was done. Ruby poked her head out of the internals.  
“I almost finished here, so can you take the old power plant and weapon parts back to storage while I finish this up?” Ruby asked; to which Homura replied simply by starting to move the power plant parts onto the float.  
“Thanks,” Ruby thanked her, before returning to her work.  
Homura moved the float over to the storage area, noting the “Quartermaster” sign over the door, before entering. She looked at the Quartermaster, an old, balding man, who merely motioned over to an area conveniently labelled “Standard Issue”. She walked over to that area, and was greeted by Kyoko taking some parts from a float. She turned round, and noticed Homura.  
“Yo,” She greeted, “Akemi wasn’t it?”  
“Yes,” Homura replied, moving over to begin clearing away the no longer used parts.  
“Flying Officer Sakura, correct?”  
“Yeah,” Kyoko said, “You can just call me Kyoko when we’re off duty or running stuff like this though.”  
Homura nodded. “I suppose the courtesy should be extended on my end as well. You can call me Homura, if you wish.”  
Kyoko grinned. “Well, aint you a polite one. I’m finished now, but Wing C is meeting up together tonight. We’ll sort which bunks everyone is in then,” Kyoko then moved to leave, “See ya around, Homura.”  
Homura merely waved a polite goodbye, and continued to unload the float. Finishing that task, she then moved back to the main Quartermaster’s area.  
“Where do you want the float?” She inquired politely, and he motioned towards an area towards the exit.  
Homura nodded, and left the float there as she left to re-join Ruby. Ruby looked proudly at the newly-installed improved power plant, and closed the access panels to it.  
“You ready to fit the new engines?” She asked, turning to Homura, “We’ll need to start with the new manoeuvring thrusters first.”  
“I’m guessing that we are handling the thrusters on each side individually, before moving onto the main engines?” Homura replied, to which Ruby chuckled.  
“Now she’s getting the hang of it,” Ruby joked, before getting to work.  
The fitting of the new manoeuvring thrusters wasn’t difficult, just a little tedious. Once that was complete, the pair moved onto the main engines. After removing the previous ones from their fittings, Ruby instructed Homura to help her bring over the new engines. Homura would then hold them in place while Ruby finished fitting them. The pair then took a step back, and let out a sigh of relief.  
“Nice work, Akemi. I’ll leave the painting and naming up to you,” Ruby stated, taking her leave.  
Homura waved a slight goodbye, and looked back towards her fighter.  
“Wow, Rubes really helped you do a number on that thing, huh?” Yang said, stopping to admire the modifications made to Homura’s fighter.  
“Indeed,” Homura replied, “Now I just need to paint it and name it.”  
“I’ll go grab you the stuff while you think,” Yang offered, preparing to move to get the materials.  
“Deep Purple, with Black highlights.”  
“Huh?” Yang said in confusion, looking at Homura like she had just grown a third head.  
“Oh, I just decided on what colour scheme to use,” Homura explained, slightly embarrassed.  
A look of realisation flitted across Yang’s face. “Alright. I’ll go get your stuff for you.”

Homura stood before her newly painted fighter, paint rapidly drying. Homura looked upon it with pride. That had been most of the day’s work, and a lot of the buzz in the hangar was beginning to die. Grabbing what she needed, she began to paint the name of her fighter just underneath her cockpit. Upon completing that, Homura began to painstakingly work on creating the nose art for her Starfighter. A Woman, standing resolute with a buckler with an hourglass in the centre, came to be emblazoned upon it.  
Homura looked upon her craft proudly. She whispered the name of her Starfighter under her breath to herself, smiling.  
“The _Eternal Guardian_.”

 **Ship Profile**  
Vessel Name: The _Eternal Guardian_  
Vessel Class: Mk III _Hunter_ -class Starfighter (Modified)  
Vessel Pilot/Commander: Pilot Homura Akemi  
Armament: 8 Medium Laser Cannons, 2 Proton Torpedo Launchers (Advanced), Fast-Firing EMP Cannon.  
Notes: Boasting superior speed, armament, and manoeuvrability to the standard Mk III _Hunter_ , the _Eternal Guardian_ is a superbly well rounded fighter. Its improved power plant allows its main laser cannons to boast a higher rate of fire – despite having twice as many as the standard. Additionally, its Fast-Firing EMP Cannon allows it to shred the shields of enemy vessels as well as disable unguarded vessels in rapid succession. The Proton Torpedo Launchers pack a far greater punch too. However, it is worth noting that the _Eternal Guardian_ lacks any improvement to shielding or armour over the standard model – it must instead rely on its superior agility to survive.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Ship profiles will come every chapter, and each will detail a different vessel in use by the 6th Fleet. Next Chapter will detail the first real chance Liberator Squadron has to socialise, and the 6th Fleet’s first assignment.


End file.
